Washington, D.C., got its first snowfall of the season this week. And at Smithsonian's National Zoo, at least one animal was really, really excited about it.

On an afternoon last September, a string of explosions suddenly hit Merrimack Valley, Mass. At least five homes were destroyed and a person was killed in the melee. More than 20 others were injured.

Federal investigators say they have now pinpointed what caused the sudden explosions on Sept. 13 – a natural gas company field engineer made a major mistake in the plans he developed for construction work that happened earlier that day, resulting in a disastrous chain reaction.

Texas' Board of Education voted Friday to change the way its students learn about the Civil War. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, students will be taught that slavery played a "central role" in the war.

The state's previous social studies standards listed three causes for the Civil War: sectionalism, states' rights and slavery, in that order. In September, the board's Democrats proposed listing slavery as the only cause.

Jennie-O Turkey is recalling over 91,000 pounds of ground turkey in connection to one illness from salmonella.

The strain involved has been linked to a yearlong outbreak of 164 cases of illness, including one death, in 35 states. The USDA has said more product recalls from different companies could follow.

The first illnesses related to the strain began in November of last year, according to a CDC investigation.

Updated at 6:07 p.m. ET

Republican Brian Kemp will be the next governor of Georgia, with Democrat Stacey Abrams admitting Friday afternoon that there was no path to victory, following a bitter 10-day battle since Election Day.